RULES
ESPN Bracketology’s efforts are focused on designing the NCAA tournament field in line with expectations that the NCAA Division I basketball committee will select a field in March. ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme uses the same data points favored by the committee in his field projections, including strength of schedule and other season-long metrics, including NET data and team sheet data similar to that available to the NCAA. For a more complete understanding, visit the NCAA website NCAA Selection Criteria.
Classification of 64 teams
The 64-team standings are the standard version of the NCAA tournament field that has been in place since 1994. However, if the standings feature 64 teams in 2021, there will be some key differences from previous years.
The primary adjustment to a normal year is, of course, playing the entire NCAA Tournament in one location. This eliminates the need to take geographical conditions into account when sowing. Additionally, there will be at least one less automatic qualifying tournament this season as the Ivy League’s decision to opt out of the 2020-21 season reduces the number of AQ entries this season to 31.
Classification of 48 teams
According to this projection, a shortened selection process would reduce the field of competitors by eight at-large teams and eight automatic qualifiers (the latter of which would still receive a unit of revenue). The top four players from each region will receive a bye into the second round, which will include four first-round matches in each region – 5v12, 6v11, 7v10 and 8v9.
Classification of 16 teams
In this prediction, the committee selects and fields the 16 best teams available. There are no automatic qualifiers, although all non-competitive conference champions receive a designated unit of revenue.
To maintain some sense of national balance, participation in the conference is limited to four teams. No region may have more than one team from the same conference.
